Last year was a busy one for senior housing loans through Fannie Mae’s Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) program.
Seniors housing loan volume totaled $5.5 billion in 2017, which is an increase of 267% from 2016’s total of $1.5 billion, according to Fannie Mae.
The top three DUS producers for seniors housing in 2017 were KeyBank National Association, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage and Jones Lang LaSalle Multifamily.
KeyBank attributes its success last year to the strong relationships that exist between Fannie Mae, borrowers, and KeyBank’s underwriting, closing, and production teams, according to Janette O’Brien, senior vice president and multifamily production manager at KeyBank Real Estate Capital.
Plus, 2017 was a big year for the sale of senior housing portfolios.
“In 2017 we saw several portfolios change hands, and we benefited by providing the acquisition financing for the buyers,” O’Brien told Senior Housing News. “I think there were more portfolios in 2017 than we have seen over the past several years.”
Among the portfolio transactions was Blackstone’s (NYSE: BX) acquisition of a 64-community senior housing portfolio from HCP, Inc. (NYSE: HCP) for $703 million.
KeyBank predicts an equally active 2018, despite Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac anticipating seniors housing volume to remain flat, she said.
“There are a lot of sellers out there and there are a lot of buyers,” she explained. “It’s my opinion that there are more buyers than sellers.”
Written by Mary Kate Nelson
Companies featured in this article:
Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, Fannie Mae, Jones Lang LaSalle, KeyBank National Association